Mechel, one of the leading Russian mining and steel groups, has announced the recommissioning of coke oven battery No. 4 at Mechel-Coke, the coke producing subsidiary of Mechel's steel producing subsidiary Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (CMP). The coke oven in question was stopped for repair work in January 2008.
The repair of the coke oven battery No. 4 was carried out from January to October 2008 in line with Mechel-Coke's long-term development plan and with a view to maintaining utilization of the coke production facilities and to satisfy the needs of CMP's blast furnace production. Later it was put on hot standby mode due to the change in the plant's production programs.
Following the commissioning of the blast furnace (BF) No. 4 at CMP in April 2009 aimed at fulfilling its production plans, the plant's needs in coke have grown significantly. Mechel-Coke's coke oven battery No. 4 will supply additional coke to CMP's BF workshop and will produce 200 million cubic meters of gas for the operation of the plant's power facilities.
As a result of the reconstruction, which included technical innovation and the repair and partial replacement of the oven's main equipment, coke oven battery No. 4 has increased its production and quality performance. The renovated unit comprising 61 oven chambers with 20.0 cubic meter capacity each, will produce approximately 440,000 mt of coke per year, i.e. 90,000 mt more compared to the period before the repair.
"The commissioning of coke oven battery No. 4 has strategic importance for the implementation of the planned production programs of Mechel-Coke and CMP. At present, the market needs and growing demand for CMP's metal products and, correspondingly, the increase of its pig iron production have brought about a resumption of the plant's needs in coke and a resumption of operations at coke oven No. 4. That will have a positive impact on our subsidiaries' economic performance and staff load," Mechel's senior vice president Vladimir Polin commented.